FDA: Menthol smokes worse than regular cigarettes

In this June 11, 2007 file photo, Helen Heinlo smokes outside of a coffee shop in Belmont, Calif.

RICHMOND, Va. >> A
Food and Drug Administration review concludes that menthol cigarettes
likely pose a greater public health risk than regular cigarettes but
does not make a recommendation on whether to limit or ban the minty
smokes — one of the few growth sectors of the shrinking cigarette
business.

The federal agency released the independent review on
Tuesday and is seeking input from the health community, the tobacco
industry and others on possible restrictions on the mint-flavored
cigarettes.

The FDA evaluation concluded that there is little
evidence to suggest that menthol cigarettes are more or less toxic or
contribute to more disease risk to smokers than regular cigarettes.
However, there is adequate data to suggest that menthol use is likely
associated with increased smoking initiation by younger people and that
menthol smokers have a harder time quitting, the review said.

There's
also evidence indicating that menthol's cooling properties can reduce
the harshness of cigarette smoke and that menthol cigarettes are
marketed as a smoother alternative, the review said.

"Menthol
cigarettes raise critical public health questions," Mitch Zeller,
director of the Center for Tobacco Products, said in a conference call
with reporters.

Zeller said there's "no holdup" on the FDA
proposing restrictions on menthol but that there are still "some
important questions" that need to be answered. The agency is
commissioning further research.

A 2011 FDA advisory panel report,
which was mandated under the 2009 law giving the agency the authority to
regulate tobacco, made many of the same findings, and said that
removing menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit public health
and highlighted greater use among minorities, teenagers and low-income
people. Panels like the tobacco committee advise the FDA on scientific
issues. The agency doesn't have to follow its recommendations, but often
does.

Meanwhile, a tobacco industry report to the FDA
acknowledged that all cigarettes are hazardous but said there's no
scientific basis for regulating menthols differently. The industry also
has raised concerns that restrictions on menthol would lead to a black
market for the cigarettes.

Menthol cigarettes are one of the few
growth areas in a shrinking cigarette market. The percentage of U.S.
cigarette smokers using menthol brands grew from 33.9 percent in 2008 to
37.5 percent in 2011, according to a study by the federal Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, with more significant
growth among younger smokers.

The FDA is "simply kicking the can
down the road," Joseph Califano Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare under President Jimmy Carter, and Louis Sullivan,
former Health and Human Services Secretary for President George H.W.
Bush, said in a joint statement. Along with other public health
advocates Tuesday, they urged the agency to ban menthol cigarettes. "The
failure of this administration to act undermines the public health and
is particularly harmful to vulnerable young Americans and
African-Americans," they said.

A menthol ban or other restriction
on the flavored cigarettes would fall heavily on Lorillard Inc., whose
Newport brand is the top-selling menthol cigarette in the U.S., with
nearly 38 percent of the market. Lorillard, based in Greensboro, N.C.,
is the country's third-largest tobacco company.

CEO Murray Kessler
said in a statement that Lorillard looks forward to participating in
the regulatory process and reiterated its long-held belief that menthol
cigarettes shouldn't be treated differently.

The move comes ahead
of a Wednesday deadline for the U.S. to respond to the World Trade
Organization's findings last year that the FDA's ban on manufacturing,
importing, marketing and distributing candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored
tobacco breaks trade rules because it exempts menthol cigarettes, most
of which are made in the U.S.. The investigation was launched following a
request from Indonesia, which claims more than 6 million of its people
depend on the production of clove cigarettes — a staple of the country's
smoking culture.

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Anonymouswrote:

Ban them all together.

on July 23,2013 | 07:48PM

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tiwtsfmwrote:

Yup. They are all bad.

on July 24,2013 | 06:08AM

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mikethenovicewrote:

There is no correct way to use a cigarette.

on July 24,2013 | 03:27AM

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RetiredWorkingwrote:

I smoked cigarettes from 1964-1969.
LOVED Kools and Salem menthols!
In Viet Nam, I've seen a 5yo boy smoking a Salem like a pro. Sad.

on July 24,2013 | 07:02AM

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Jerry_Dwrote:

That's how the big tobacco industries expand their international markets -- get the kids from third world and developing countries addicted, since there are limited or no laws there to prohibit it. Cigarettes are a lot cheaper overseas, too, since there are no "sin tax" or other tariffs applied (carton of smokes at Seoul Inchon Airport, for example, is $18 -- and that's AIRPORT prices. Even cheaper in China.). Fact of the matter is, human beings always have and always will look for ways to artificially heighten our emotionally well-being (and, yes, smoking cigarettes does relieve stress to a certain degree). Some people drink alcohol, some people smoke cigarettes, some people do other things...but the vast majority of us intake *something* or another. We've been doing this ever since Ooog the Caveman first chewed on that tasty root, and it took him to a "better place". If cigarettes were banned altogether, then it will just be replaced by something else. The question then becomes....what is a safer alternative that should be legalized?

on July 24,2013 | 08:40AM

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honopicwrote:

As a fellow vet, I know what you mean. Most people who were in service in the 60s and early 70s smoked. If they didn't when they went to boot camp, they likely did by the time they got out. "Smoke breaks" were one of the first privileges they got, and at 15c a pack, it was hard to resist. Add that to being in a combat zone, and the "risk" from smoking was far outweighed by the risk of surviving through another day. Yes, it was sad to see little kids smoking, but American cigarettes were prized possessions, and could be bartered for all kinds of "services." Those kids were also in constant danger, so smoking was the least of their worries.

on July 24,2013 | 03:15PM

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KeithHaugenwrote:

I recall switching to menthol cigarettes because I was led to believe they were less dangerous. That was before I got smart and quit smoking, period, in December 1965. Don't miss it at all, and can't understand why anyone with an ounce of intelligence smokes. I understand that some people are more addicted than others, but they too can get help.

on July 24,2013 | 07:35AM

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Jerry_Dwrote:

I can understand when a non-smoker insults smokers the way you just did. After all, non-smokers have never been addicted; therefore, their remarks are purely due to ignorance. On the other hand, for a former addict such as yourself to take the soapbox with "I can't understand why anyone with an ounce of intelligence smokes"....well, that just makes you a hypocrite. I'm a former smoker of 16 years -- I quit smoking 15 years ago (but I consider myself a lifelong addict...we ALL are, including you). Yet you will never hear me demean anybody who smokes cigarettes. Quitting cigarettes is said to be tougher than quitting heroine -- therefore, lifelong addicts such as you and I can be a little more compassionate towards those who know smoking is deadly but just don't have the mental and physical strength yet to quit.